2010 Citizen of the Year
I was named the 2010 Citizen of the Year for Brantley County last week but the one that truly should be named Citizen of the Year for Brantley County was sitting out in the audience at the awards ceremony the other night. After seeing the latest Robin Hood movie I started calling her "muh Lady." She has sacrificed so much over the years and done without things that I know she would liked to have had so I could work on my dream as a photographer. She has told me that I've got three wives and their names are Sony, Nikon and Bonnie and we've been married almost 26 years now.
Years ago when I first started photography one of the first photos I was ever able to sell went to a little white haired lady from Jacksonville. It was of a curved dirt road taken in the fall of the year that I called the Road to Strickland Landing. She had lived in Brantley County as a small child but her family moved away to Florida. The picture took her back to when she was walking down a road just like this kicking a Campbell soup can without a worry in the world and brought back lots of fond memories. Before she retired from her job at an insurance company Sibyl was looking at the picture while standing near a copying machine when her supervisor walked up. He watched her for a while and said "I don't know where you were at but you weren't here" and she told him about the little girl on a dirt road.
I think one of the best things an artist can hear from someone is first of all - I'd like to buy some of your work and next would have to be - your work tells a story and stirs an emotion. I've been very blessed for several people to tell me this.
I've met so many great people through my photography and many Brantley County photos of mine are in possessions of people around the world. Governor Perdue, former President Jimmy Carter, the Tatum Family in England and several others.
I did a job shadow with an 8th grade student the other day that is interested in photography that asked me how much I've made from my photography and I had to laugh. I added it up farely quickly and said about $10,000 and $9,500 was of Brantley County. I figure I've spent at least twice that much and Bonnie says the costs have been way more than that and she is probably right once again.
I read an Ansel Adams quote the other day that said "Good photography is know where to stand." I think I've been standing in a very good place all of my life. Brantley County.
wayne
